DAILY PONDERABLES
Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny
Daily Reflections
GETTING WELL
Very deep, sometimes quite forgotten, damaging emotional conflicts persist below the level of consciousness.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 79-80
Only through positive action can I remove the remains of guilt and shame brought on by alcohol. Throughout my misadventures when I drank, my friends would say, "Why are you doing this? You're only hurting yourself." Little did I know how true were those words. Although I harmed others, some of my behavior caused grave wounds to my soul. Step Eight provides me with a way of forgiving myself. I alleviate much of the hidden damage when I make my list of those I have hurt. In making amends, I free myself of burdens, thus contributing to my healing.
From the book Daily Reflections
© Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day
"We of agnostic temperament have found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which we call God. As soon as you can say that you do believe or are willing to believe, you are on your way. Upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built." Am I willing to depend on a Power that I cannot fully define or comprehend?
Meditation for the Day
We seek God's presence and "they who seek shall find." It is not a question of searching so much as an inner consciousness of the Divine spirit in your heart. To realize God's presence you must surrender to His will in the small as well as in the big things of life. This makes God's guidance possible. Some things separate you from God--a false word, a fear-inspired failure, a harsh criticism, a stubborn resentment. These are the things that put a distance between your mind and God. A word of love, a selfless reconciliation, a kind act of helpfulness--these bring God closer.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may think and say and do the things that bring God closer to me. I pray that I may find Him in a sincere prayer, a kind word, or an unselfish deed.
From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day
© Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation
NA - Just for Today
"How long do I have to go?"
Page 240
"The way to remain a productive, responsible member of society is to put our recovery first."
Basic Text, p. 106
The meetings have been great! Each night we've attended, we've gathered with other addicts to share experience, strength, and hope. And each day, we've used what we've learned in the meetings to continue in our recovery.
Meanwhile, life goes on. Work, family, friends, school, sport, entertainment, community activities, civic obligations-all call out for our time. The demands of everyday living sometimes make us ask ourselves, "How long do I have to go to these meetings?"
Let's think about this. Before coming to Narcotics Anonymous, could we stay clean on our own? What makes us think we can now? Then there's the disease itself to consider-the chronic self-centeredness, the obsessiveness, the compulsive behavior patterns that express themselves in so many areas of our lives. Can we live and enjoy life without effective treatment for our disease? No.
"Ordinary" people may not have to worry about such things, but we're not "Ordinary" people-we're addicts. We can't pretend we don't have a fatal, progressive illness, because we do. Without our program, we may not survive to worry about the demands of work, school, family, or anything else. NA meetings give us the support and direction we need to recover from our addiction, allowing us to live the fullest lives possible.
Just for Today: I want to live and enjoy life. To do that, I will put my recovery first.
From the book Just for Today
© Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought for Today
"Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things."
--Henry Ward Beecher
***************
In God's Keep...
There was a time my faith did stray…
I let You slip away
For this there was a price to pay…
A life of disarray
Today I'm grateful for each day You're giving...
You bless me with Your Grace today
To live the life I now am living…
an easier, softer way
Shine on me you're guiding light…
lead me on your way
Keep me strong to fight the fight...
keep me sober one more day
Keep me strong that I resist…
temptation on the way
As dormant demons do persist…
protect me from their fray
If I should ever lose my way…
and the walls of faith should crumble
On my knees to You I'll pray...
to catch me as I stumble
Give me faith… Give me hope…
to make it through this day...
Give me strength that I may cope...
whatever comes my way
The chains I bared now broken…
it's tears of joy I weep
My mind is freed and open…
Today I'm In God's Keep
Gordon R.
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
"If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher."
~Pema Chödrön
Native American
"You have to have confidence in your own ability to be able to go it alone, to go against what the rest of the culture is doing."
--Eunice Baumann-Nelson, Ph.D., PENOBSCOT
God, this is hard. Today, allow me to be a Warrior. Let me be strong. Let Your voice be clear to me. Let me hear Your guidance. My goal today is to serve You, to develop myself to be the kind of Indian person that You would have me be. To Walk the Red Road must sometimes be walked alone.
Great Spirit, let me walk the Red Road today with the confidence that You are with me. If I fall, I will quickly ask You to help me know what I should do next.
Keep It Simple
The Master doesn't talk, she acts. When her work is done, the people say, "Amazing: we did it, all by ourselves!"
Our Higher Power works like the Master. Quietly. In fact, we usually take the credit ourselves!
We're like the child who bakes cookies for the first time. Mother found the recipe, bought the ingredients, and got out the bowl and pans and spoons. She told us what to do, and finished when we got tired. Then she cleaned up after us. We proudly served our cookies, saying, "I made them all by my self!"
In recovery, our Higher Power helps and teaches us every step of the way, just like a loving parent.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thank-you ---for my life, for my recovery, for love, for hope, and for faith. Thank-you for teaching me how to live in a better way.
Action for the Day: I'll list five ways my Higher Power has acted in my life.
TWELVE STEPS
and
TWELVE TRADITIONS
CONTENTS
Step Seven pg. 70
“Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.”
What is humility? What can it mean to us? The avenue to true freedom of the human spirit. Necessary aid to survival. Value of ego-puncturing. Failure and misery transformed by humility. Strength from weakness. Pain is the admission price to new life. Self-centered fear chief activator of defects. Step Seven is change in attitude which permits us to move out of ourselves toward God.
Step Eight pg. 77
“Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.”
This and the next two Steps are concerned with personal relations. Learning to live with others is a fascinating adventure. Obstacles: reluctance to forgive; nonadmission of wrongs to others; purposeful forgetting. Necessity of exhaustive survey of past. Deepening insight results from thoroughness. Kinds of harm done to others. Avoiding extreme judgments. Taking the objective view. Step Eight is the beginning of the end of isolation.
Step Nine pg. 83
“Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.”
A tranquil mind is the first requisite for good judgment. Good timing is important in making amends. What is courage? Prudence means taking calculated chances. Amends begin when we join A.A. Peace of mind cannot be bought
Step Ten pg. 88
“Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.”
Can we stay sober and keep emotional balance under all conditions? Self-searching becomes a regular habit. Admit, accept, and patiently correct defects. Emotional hangover. When past is settled with, present challenges can be met. Varieties of inventory. Anger, resentments, jealousy, envy, self-pity, hurt pride—all led to the bottle. Self-restraint first objective. Insurance against “big-shot-ism.” Let’s look at credits as well as debits. Examination of motives.
Step Eleven pg. 96
“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”
Meditation and prayer main channels to Higher Power. Connection between self-examination and meditation and prayer. An unshakable foundation for life. How shall we meditate? Meditation has no boundaries. An individual adventure. First result is emotional balance. What about prayer? Daily petitions for understanding of God’s will and grace to carry it out. Actual results of prayer are beyond question. Rewards of meditation and prayer.
Step Twelve pg. 106
“Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”
Joy of living is the theme of the Twelfth Step. Action its keyword. Giving that asks no reward. Love that has no price tag. What is spiritual awakening? A new state of consciousness and being is received as a free gift. Readiness to receive gift lies in practice of Twelve Steps. The magnificent reality. Rewards of helping other alcoholics. Kinds of Twelfth Step work. Problems of Twelfth Step work. What about the practice of these principles in all our affairs? Monotony, pain, and calamity turned to good use by practice of Steps. Difficulties of practice. “Two-stepping.” Switch to “twelve-stepping” and demonstrations of faith. Growing spiritually is the answer to our problems. Placing spiritual growth first. Domination and overdependence. Putting our lives on give-and-take basis. Dependence upon God necessary to recovery of alcoholics. “Practicing these principles in all our affairs”: Domestic relations in A.A. Outlook upon material matters changes. So do feelings about personal importance. Instincts restored to true purpose. Understanding is key to right attitudes, right action key to good living.
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